Words and letters
by LightofEvolution
Summary: Hermione gets the unique chance to work on the new edition of Hogwarts: A History. This, obviously, involves studying the content of the Hogwarts library - where the DADA Professor Malfoy also spends quite a lot of time.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This story is a kind of late birthday gift for a friend, though she maybe is only going to find out what part of her inspired me in the very last chapter. The story is completely written and beta'ed, and there are three chapters in total.**

**Endless thanks to my unbelievable beta niffizzle who already made this worth writing by commenting so brilliantly on it. All mitakes are my own.**

**No profit is made with this writing, and I own nothing. **

* * *

When Hermione Granger entered the library of Hogwarts, she had a perfectly well constructed plan. She always had a plan, but rarely she was as excited to execute it as she was now.

Finally, the Board of Governors had given the Ministry permission to send someone to work on a thorough review of the book - Hogwarts: A History. But they only wanted one person to scoop the ancient books and rolls of parchment threatening to dissolve into dust when not handled with care. And Hermione was oh so delighted when the Minister himself knocked on her office door two weeks ago and asked her to deviate from her usual tasks in the Department of Mysteries to go on this special mission.

She had hugged him with a squeal that was far more girlish than she'd like to admit.

And now, after two weeks of deliberate plotting and planning and being excited and after a round of slightly whisky laced tea with Minerva, she was finally here.

Ignoring the whispers and stares from the awed students, she practically bounced towards the shelf she knew she would find the book to begin with.

She breathed in the wonderful scent of ink and leather and paper and parchment, her fingers dancing along the spines (not touching them, of course), knowing she was close to her goal, just a bit more, and yes, there it was. She stretched her hand out-

"You can't have that book."

Startled, she looked at the person who wanted to stop her with that drawl. She had apparently been to immersed in her mission that she had remained oblivious to another person in the aisle.

Huh. _Him_?

"I need it," she retaliated, staring at him.

While he didn't even look at her. His blond frings falling into his face, he was focused on another book he held in his left hand while the other remained frozen in mid-air with Hermione's.

"Well, wait until I am finished with it, then. Your homework has to wait," he said, obviously not paying attention to her.

"Hogwarts must have changed a lot when students need 'Fight and Force - a compendium of the Dark Ages' for their homework." Something in her words or voice must have stirred him from his thoughts, for he drew a sharp breath and looked at her.

"Granger?" It was more a question than a greeting.

"Hello, Draco," she greeted politely enough. She couldn't remember if she ever called him by his first name, but they were adults now and anything else would have felt juvenile to her.

"What in Salazar's name are you doing here?"

There was no malice in his voice, just honest surprise, so she answered politely. "I am rewriting Hogwarts: A History."

"Why am I not surprised?" He smirked, and with this typical move, Hermione felt transported back several years.

"Well, someone had to do it. And I was their prime choice." Yes, maybe she laced her voice with a bit of arrogance then. "So I can't imagine you needing this book more than I do." She stretched out her hands for the book.

But Draco pulled it away from her, behind his back and out of reach. "And I can. I am the DADA professor, after all."

Her professional politeness evaporated in a split second. "But I want to start with this one."

"I am afraid you have to be a good girl and wait until I am finished reading up what I need." He turned and set to leave.

Hermione growled at the phrase 'good girl'. She hadn't been a girl in ages and wouldn't tolerate being treated like one. Even though, there had been this one night when Charlie had called her 'good girl', but that had been in an entirely different context…

"Malfoy, give me that book. My plan is-"

"To come back tomorrow to it? Perfect." And with that, he vanished through the endless rows of bookshelves.

Hermione had the impulse to stomp and curse violently. But, of course, she didn't. This was still a library, after all.

The weeks after Hermione's arrival at the school, she managed to… circumvent another encounter with Draco. Okay, so maybe she avoided him like the plague. And it was surprisingly easy.

She got two quiet hours of research in before breakfast, having gotten Madame Pince's special permission to enter the sacred halls before the librarian was up.

After a quick breakfast at the staff table where she sat next to Neville, she used the time when the professors were teaching to dive further into the history of Hogwarts.

There was the occasional student on a free period, but they mostly stared at her; the bold ones shyly asked for an autograph on the Golden Trio chocolate frog card. One Ravenclaw wanted her advice on a History of Magic essay which she gladly gave.

In the afternoons, Hermione retreated to her rooms to write, often forgetting dinner over it and only leaving her quarters for a final round in the library shortly before it closed for the night.

Her research was going splendidly and soon, she had made so much progress that she allowed herself to work on another piece of writing which was more her personal pet project than anything else.

The only thing she saw of Draco during that time was his stupidly handsome smirk over meals and sometimes a flash of blond in a corridor or behind a row of books. It was heavenly.

* * *

Until she saw him committing a sin.

In the library.

For everyone to see.

Okay, not everyone since it was a Hogsmeade weekend with sunny weather and only a few students had found it in them to study. Plus, they were in the Restricted Section so the chance of young, studious minds observing this heinous act should be close to nil.

That didn't stop Hermione to close the book over the first Goblin War and the Headmaster of Hogwarts' notes over it and march right over to him.

"Malfoy!" she hissed at him despite being practically alone with him. "Stop doing that!"

He ignored her command but at least looked at her.

"What?" He didn't even try and hide the object of her consternation under the desk like maybe Harry or Ron would do.

"That!" She pointed at the half-finished, dripping thing in his hand.

"You are eating an apple in the library! Do you have any idea what your sticky fingers are doing to the parchment? And don't even get me started on the acid in the juice! It is detrimental-"

Hermione couldn't continue her rant because all of a sudden, there was an apple lodged in her mouth.

Malfoy's apple. Which he had simply shoved into her mouth.

And apart of being outraged and a bit disgusted at his gesture, the apple was perfect. Sweet and crunchy and fresh and… everything one shouldn't enjoy in the library.

She took a bit and removed the fruit from her mouth, and he used the time she needed to chew and swallow to say, "Dear Granger, since we are apparently back to last names, do you really think they have built this library without an automatic Impervious charm on everything remotely readable?"

She didn't know. And his shit-eating grin and twinkling grey eyes reflected on that it was probably showing on her face that Hermione Granger, who had spent more hours than Harry and Ron together in the library and was rewriting the schools chronic, DIDN'T KNOW such essential information.

"But," she struggled for an answer.

"But of course it isn't in the official library rules. Do you want to hear munching and chewing and slurping whenever you enter the library and try to study and learn?"

Stupidly, she shook her head.

"See, _Hermione?" _He smiled, this time openly teasing her. "I know one thing or the other about this castle you don't."

Then, he stood and leaned over the table he had been sitting at. Suddenly, he was so close to her. For a second, Hermione wondered when Malfoy, no, Draco's presence had become so...engaging. But then he plucked the apple from her hand. In doing so, his fingers brushed against hers. And to Hermione's utmost surprise, he was warm, so warm.

Wasn't Draco Malfoy supposed to be cold and clammy?

But his warmth and his twinkling eyes and his smile made him appear so, so human.

Knowing she would whack herself over the head for the lateness of her reaction later, Hermione just stood there and let him take his apple from her hand.

Seconds later, he collected his parchments, returned his book to the shelf, and winked at her. "Have a nice day with your historical sources, Hermione. If you should become fed up with them, you could…" at this point, he looked at his feet, "you know, you could always join some of the staff at the Three Broomsticks later on. We always meet there at Hogsmeade Saturdays."

"I need to finish this research," she replied, embarrassed at her lame answer.

He chuckled. "Come on, Hermione. Even you need some company sometimes. The Goblin Wars will still be here tomorrow to bore everyone but you to death.

And suddenly, he was gone. Leaving her alone in a very quiet library. She cherished the silence, always had. Just her and the books and the steady turning of papers.

But maybe Draco was right? Maybe some company would do her good. And it's not as if she and him would be alone in the Three Broomsticks.

Just one more paragraph…

* * *

One paragraph turned into twenty or two-hundred, and that was why Hermione arrived at the pub when the sun had already set. She rushed in, afraid that the others were gone already, only to be met with a dozen professors in varying degrees of drunkenness crammed around one large table.

"Hermione!" Neville yelled louder than necessary, causing the rest of the full pub to turn their heads.

A tipsy hug and sloppy kiss to the cheek later, Neville maneuvered her into the nook between him and Draco. Which was a weird experience in itself because it meant that previously, Draco and Neville had sat next to each other.

They were truly living in changed times.

And since Neville was the cuddly type of drunk, he slung an arm around her shoulders while talking animatedly. The sudden closeness to a man, even one she had absolutely no romantic interest in, brought a blush to her face.

"Longbottom, you mountain troll! You are suffocating the witch!" Draco boistered from her right side. He must also have had a few because his usually so pale complexion bore an interesting shade of red.

"You are just jealous!" Neville countered, shoving a Firewhisky into Hermione's hand and giving her a conspirative wink while doing so.

"Am not!"

"You are! Especially since I am snake killer and have all these muscles!" By now, Neville was outright laughing.

"And no brain to use them."

Maybe it was due to the sounds of the pub around them, but Draco did sound a bit jealous. Enough so that she inquired, "You got me very curious. What brought this Sexiest Wizard Alive debate up?"

Draco groaned, burying his face in his hands. The gesture made him appear so young, so normal. "And here we go."

"I am so glad you asked, sweetest Hermione," Neville explained, exaggerating, and lifting his arm from her shoulders so he could use both arms to gesticulate.

"Our very own redeemed bad boy here," at that, he placed another whisky in front of the blond next to her, "stumbled into a situation of very delicate character. In fact, it was a group of girls, sixth and seventh year, who held a discussion of vast interest."

Had Hermione known Neville spoke so pompously, she would've laced his tea with alcohol before his oral Potions exam.

"Don't you say," she played along.

"Indeed. They were talking about the most attractive professor currently at Hogwarts. And poor, ugly Malfoy here just came in second."

"At least I can brew a potion correctly!" Draco defended himself, still remaining a bit miffed but good-natured.

Alright, Hermione had to admit, Neville had grown up _very_ nicely and now was pretty attractive. But for her, he was the first friend she had made in the Wizarding World and not some sex idol.

"You can, but only when these muscled arms and gentle looking hands grow the ingredients for it!" Neville continued taunting Draco.

"I can never unhear these words coming from Peppermint Clearwater's mouth!" Draco groaned. "Though, you shouldn't let these teenage crushes get to your head, Longbottom. Their taste hopefully changes when they grow up. What really counts is the fact that I am, undoubtedly, much more attractive for the adult witches than you." He threw his blond fringes back in an exaggerated movement, then looked at her. "Hermione here will agree with me, right?"

Being suddenly the focus of two very grey, very deep eyes made Hermione's brain stutter a bit. But only for a second.

"Well, since I have seen Neville here naked and you not, I can't really answer that truthfully, can I?"

While Neville next to her broke out in a laughing fit, Draco gulped visibly, made a 'wait a second' gesture with his index finger towards her, and took a large gulp of his whiskey.

"As much as I want to hear the story how you have seen Neville in his birthday suit, I suddenly have the impulse to provide you with a live performance of the uncensored version of Draco Malfoy stark naked immediately."

Hermione's brain shut down. What should she reply on this?

"But this train of thought also tells me that I had one too many and should go back home to the castle, clearing my head up on the way." Apparently, Draco had decided to leave, but before he could get up entirely, he leaned towards her, his breath brushing against her neck.

"Though, sweet Hermione, one day, I am going to provide you with that visual. And you will love it and you will beg to take a sample of it. The chances are astronomical I am going to let you."

Her pulse raced, the sound of it rushing through her ears. She was thankful that it was so dark because otherwise, she was pretty sure the entire pub would have seen her blush.

He didn't wait for an answer to his offer. Instead, he left the Three Broomstick with a purposeful stride that was quite admirable in his tipsy state.

Taking in the group of people around her, Hermione was glad no one was looking at her. Not even Neville, who was occupied throwing winks at Hannah Abbott behind the bar. She took some deep, steady breaths to calm herself down.

Yes, Draco Malfoy was hot. Annoying as hell and snobbish, but so damn handsome. His wit had always been a quality of him, but now he could use it more smartly and more purposefully, she guessed. He definitely knew which buttons to push with Hermione, deliberately flirting with her or not.

Annoyed at herself, she pushed away all thoughts of him. She was at Hogwarts to work, not to develop an impulse to grab one of the professors and pull them in her bed, for Circe's sake! Really, her project was so very important, she should really focus on it, and that's what she swore to herself.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you so much for the positive responses to that story. I am fully aware I am not writing "War and Peace" here, but each and every review makes me smile.**

**Thank you for mcal and niffizzle - both a light in the darkness.**

* * *

Another week went by with no sights of Draco in the library, not when Hermione was there, at least. She made more progress on the revision of _Hogwarts: A History._

Thus, the rather intense encounter with the blond professor was almost forgotten, until one evening she was deep in concentration over a compendium of the most influential wizards of the Middle Ages, when-

"Don't be frightened now-"

Hermione let out a loud shriek when someone touched her shoulder.

Unfortunately, that wasn't all. She also threw the precious book away, instinctively grabbed her wand, and launched into battle mode.

"Ooof!" made Draco when Hermione pushed him against the next shelf, her wand firmly pressing to his neck.

"Draco, for Merlin's sake!" she cursed instantly, though not very loudly.

"I am sorry!" he lamented. "I only wanted to alert you of my presence as not to spook you."

Hermione then finally removed her wand from his person, suddenly embarrassed. "I didn't want to attack you. It's just… some patterns from the war are hard to get rid of."

"I know. And that's why you shouldn't really apologise." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Some DADA professor I am."

Hermione giggled, the adrenaline surge demanding release. "That would have been an interesting entry for the chronicles. 'After finally breaking the supposed curse on the position, DADA professor Draco Malfoy got defeated by a low level Ministry worker on a research mission'."

Draco grinned, apparently relieved that she was taking the situation with humour.

"You aren't really low-level worker at the Ministry, are you?" he asked.

"No, but I might have to kill you if I told you more." Hermione tried to keep her face serious. But to no avail. She broke out in giggles not two seconds later.

"No need to become too excited," Draco said with an easy smile. "I already knew you are working at the Department of Mysteries, coordinating the spell development."

Hermione gasped. "How do you know? That's top secret!"

"You don't think just because my father is sitting in Azkaban my family has lost its connections to the Ministry?" The raise of his eyebrow was as Malfoy as it could get.

Seriously, she had no clue what to reply to this when strange sounds reached their ears.

Hushed words. Female giggles. Moans.

"Do you hear that?" Draco had slipped into his professor mode. Before, he had stood relaxed, the hands buried in his perfectly tailored slacks. Now, he stood regal, the back straight and the wand at hand.

"Yes, I do. Are those students making out in the library?"

Draco nodded, gesturing for her to get closer.

Hermione followed his beckoning, drawing nearer until she was well in his personal space but also in whispering distance.

"I suspect these are two of my seventh year Gryffindor and Slytherin students. They've been eye-fucking in class for a while now."

Being in his immediate proximity and hear him articulate the word 'fucking' did all sorts of things to Hermione. None of them she was very proud of.

"And we can't have them making out in here, can we?" he spoke with so much conviction that Hermione started giggling.

"Are you telling me that you, especially you, I might emphasize, haven't made out in the library when we were at school?"

His eyes gleamed with humour at her. "Probably everywhere else in the castle and on the grounds, but never here." After a short pause, he asked, "Have you?"

"Of course not, Draco. This is a sacred space!" She wasn't entirely serious while saying that. Before she could stop her mouth from being faster than her brain, she said, "Though, a certain platinum blond wizard made me an offer to show me a visual that makes me beg. That's quite tempting to break this rule, I must say."

Once the words left her mouth, she wanted to take them back. She wasn't sure she even liked him! And yet, a handful meetings as an adult and she was practically climbing him like a tree. Verbally, at least.

Just when she wanted to express how sorry she was about saying such stupid things, he broke out in laughter. "You, Hermione Granger, are a true gem. I can't remember if I ever enjoyed being talked back to so much. Probably never." His lips curled into a smile that made Hermione's stomach do somersaults.

"So didn't want Professor Malfoy to do something about these misbehaving students?" she asked, teasing him.

"Damn, witch, you distracted me!" Draco chuckled. "But you are right, we need to focus." Suddenly, he winked at her. "Ready to have some fun?"

"Hey, I am the funnest part of the Golden Trio!" she slapped him against his chest. Which, she could tell even from the shortest of contacts, was hard and muscular.

"I don't find that too hard to believe." He raised his wand, and an unknown spell washed over Hermione. "Play along."

Taking her hand, he tugged her along. Despite the sensation that was holding Draco's hand, Hermione noticed he had put some Glamour of sorts on them. He steered them a few aisles further into the library, away from the more prominent sections and towards the History of Magic.

And that was where the starry-eyed couple believed to have found a safe hiding place. Soon, the adults had found them, lips locked and the girl's legs slung around his waist.

"What kind of Glamour did you put on us?" Hermione asked, looking at her feet which were almost translucent. She lifted her head and saw Draco's eyes had turned opalesque while the rest of him was almost see-through. Ghostly.

"A clever one, if I may say so myself," he replied, his voice having gained a shallow, yet echoing quality. "And you will see why. Just play along." He pulled her further along until they stood just two or three steps away from the young couple.

"That was us, once," he boomed, causing the teenage boy to almost drop the girl.

"Do you remember these sweet days, my dearest?" Draco continued, turning towards Hermione.

By now, the couple had stopped their making out session and stared at the ghost-like adults more than a bit embarrassed.

"I do remember these days, my love," Hermione played along, having a hunch about what Draco was getting at.

"Who the fuck are you?" The blonde girl had her feet firmly on the ground, gaping at them.

"A young witch shouldn't talk like that," Hermione drawled in an imitation of her great-aunt's way of speaking. "It only serves to scare away any prospects for a decent husband."

"In our times, we were punished severely for improper behaviour with far less body contact."

Draco spoke so convincingly that Hermione had to cover her laughter with an exaggerated nod.

"He touched my elbow and was seen doing so."

Indeed, Draco grabbed her elbow to demonstrate the innocence of the touch. Though, Hermione felt his warmth seeping through the fabric of her shirt.

"The drama ensued was too much to bare. We ended our lives here in the library."

Draco had always had a flare for the dramatic, but Hermione liked it much better as adults now. He was so damn good.

"And have decided to come back from death to warn the young lovers from overstepping the lines of prudency, even though they have blurred over the course of the centuries." She pointed at the girl's legs where the skirt was still askew.

The teenagers looked ready to run.

And then, Draco acted out a bit more.

"But do you know what the best thing about being dead is?" he asked, mischievously.

Dumbly, the two pupils shook their heads.

"We don't have to stop at touching elbows." He threw Hermione a wink, and she knew he was up to something. "I can do this all day long." In a swift move, Draco had Hermione pinned against the nearest shelf.

Hermione gave surprised gasp that wasn't pretend at all.

Merlin, he was so close in a blink of an eye. Automatically, her arms went around his waist as his caged her in just next to her face. For a moment, she had to remind herself to keep breathing.

Until he started making loud, smacking kissing noises right beside her ear.

From the student's point of view it had to appear as if they were kissing very intensely - and very loudly. Hilarious.

A very feminine giggle escaped her.

"Don't giggle, woman. You are very passionately kissed by your tragic lover. Be a bit more convincing," Draco whispered between kissing-noises, making his breath ghost over the skin on the side of her neck.

The sigh this sensation caused and she really hoped he didn't hear, was quickly followed by, "Oh right. After all, I died for you." Nevertheless, her hands sneaked up his arms and shoulders and settled in his locks. Even though they were translucent, the texture on her fingers remained unaffected.

They were soft. And strong. And she didn't want to stop carding her fingers through them.

Instinctively, she must have pulled him closer because suddenly, Draco was practically nose to nose with her, eyes closed and leaning into her touch.

Staring at him, she ceased her actions, which caused him to open his eyes again.

"Are they gone?" he asked, the voice a bit strained.

"Who?"

"The students."

_Oh_.

"Yes, they have fled." Hermione said after a glance to the side. "We have left quite the impression, haven't we?"

He pushed away from the shelf and took a step back, bestowing her with a boyish smile that made her want to pull him back at her. It was really difficult to remember that they hadn't been on this good terms for long yet. "That we have."

"I should really go and continue my research tasks for today."

"Wait a second, please." Draco pulled his wand and with another flourish of it, they were transfigured back to their usual appearances.

"Much better," he commented and raised his hand. For a moment, Hermione thought he wanted to touch her, but he stopped himself and sunk his arm again.

She understood him, though. His hair was also back to normal, and were she had run her fingers through it, it was slightly ruffled, begging her to be tamed by her.

"Thank you."

With a nod, Draco turned to leave the aisle.

"Draco, wait!" she called him back.

He stopped dead in his tracks, his head in a questioning tilt.

"Would you mind looking at a chapter I wrote? I am certain you have more insight on the sociological implications that come with-" she rambled.

Draco merely raised his hand to stop her. "Of course, I would. What is the chapter about?"

Hermione exhaled loudly with relief. "Really, it's more of a sub chapter that deals with the connection of certain pureblood families to the position of the Headmaster of Hogwarts."

"Does it? Interesting."

Draco's curiosity prompted her to elaborate. "Well, since I've come to know about Phineas Black, I've always wondered about how a son of the Sacred Twenty-Eight came to be Headmaster of Hogwarts. A teacher in a family of purebloods. Upon further research, I found many connections to the family trees of the renown pureblood families. Even yours," she concluded with a small smile, handing him a folder full of pages in handwritten script.

"That is fascinating. I can't wait to read this." His words were calm, but Hermione recognized a familiar timbre in it she knew she presented every time her curiosity was seriously piqued.

"Then go and read it!" she ordered, shooing him away with a smile on her lips.

With one last glance at her, Draco made his way out of the library.

And Hermione returned to her historical sources. Even if it took her several minutes to convince her mind from straying to grey eyes and warm smiles.

* * *

"What the fuck?!" Hermione very rarely swore, but now, alone in her quarters and her belongings strewn all around her, she allowed herself to do so.

After all, she had been searching for these few pages for more than an hour.

They had to be here somewhere.

Again, she turned every page of the almost finished manuscript.

Nothing.

Then, again, every single page of the revision of _Hogwarts: A History_ she had written on her laptop and printed.

No trace of the traitorous words.

"Circe, I am the only person in this castle touching these pages!" she exclaimed, knowing very well no one heard her.

No.

"Oh no!"

Strictly speaking, she wasn't the only person reading what she had written within the ancient walls of the castle. Panic rose in her.

What if she had handed him those pages?

The chance was slim but still, it was there. She had been terribly distracted by his person, after all.

She had to make sure he hadn't read them yet!

The thought alone of Draco Malfoy reading what she wrote for her 'hobby' made her blush terribly. And before she knew, she had checked his schedule and walked out of her quarters, determined to get her hands on the missing scenes of her latest novel.

It was half past four in the afternoon, and Hermione supposed Draco to be in his office adjourned to the DADA classroom. She knew he would stop working just shy of dinner time to have a work free evening. That was what he had shared with Neville over lunch, at least.

Her feet carried her through the castle, driven by the force to keep this part of her writing a secret from Draco Malfoy.

Only a few people knew that Hermione, aside from her job in the Department of Mysteries, had a very creative side she channeled into writing wizarding novels centered around a female Healer who helped the Auror Department solving crimes with her knowledge. And, quite regularly, a bit of romance and sex found their way into these stories.

As it were, this 'hobby' of hers earned Hermione much more than her income from the Ministry, but her identity was kept under wraps due to the fact that the novels were published under the name of 'Perdita Os'. Only Harry and Ron, who teased her endlessly but good-naturedly about it, as well as Ginny and Lavender, who served as her alpha readers, knew all the details. Well, them and Charlie Weasley whom she consulted for some information about the details of a dragon tamer life. The two weeks spent in Romania also led to some more inspiration for the very juicy parts of her upcoming story.

And it were some of theses pages that had gone missing now where probably in the hands of a certain blond professor. The thought alone brought a feeling of embarrassment and, if she dared defining it more properly, also some naughty excitement.

Swallowing this confusing mixture of emotions, she opened the door to the DADA classroom, expecting it to be empty and Draco grading in the adjourning office.

And nearly got hit by a spell wheezing over her head, only avoiding it by ducking.

"Malfoy!" she exclaimed automatically.

"Sorry!" came instead from a boy.

Hermione lifted her gaze again and looked around. Apparently, she had picked a bad time to retrieve her lost pages for there seemed to be a lesson in full swing.

About twenty pupils stared at her with wide eyes, having stopped in mid-motion.

"Say hello to Miss Granger," an amused Draco Malfoy now instructed from the middle of the classroom.

"Hello, Miss Granger," the students mumbled, well-trained.

"Now, you go on practicing while I ask our guest what brought her to us." And indeed, the class followed their professor's words and returned to their duelling as he walked over to Hermione.

"What are they doing here? There shouldn't be a lesson right now."

Draco grinned at Hermione's words. "It's called extracurricular activities, and I remember you were quite familiar with them."

Feeling rightfully chastised, she inquired, "You are right, I was just so surprised to see them here. Is it a duelling club?"

"Not exactly. But it's a group of students meeting once or twice a week to improve their skills in the practical parts of the Defense curriculum." He placed his hands on her shoulders and relocated her about a foot to the side before, again, she felt a jolt of magic barely missing her.

"Careful, Peterson!" Draco bellowed at someone behind Hermione's back. "There is no option but to leave your eyes open when using a wand, how often do I have to explain that?" He shook his head, peering down at Hermione, his hands still on her shoulders. "Sorry."

Blinking at his quick reaction and his sudden proximity, Hermione replied, "No worries. That's what one gets when entering a room full of students practising Defense. And, for the record," she smiled up at him, trying to ignore that the weight of his hands felt great on her shoulders, "I appreciate this extracurricular activity. A good training like that can save lives."

"Thank you for the compliment."

Suddenly, Hermione remembered that she hadn't come all this way through the castle to stare into Draco's eyes. Though, they were worth it.

"So, the reason why I came here-"

"Right!" With an awkward movement that ended with him ruffling his hair, Draco removed his hands from her person. "What can I do for you?"

"I wanted to talk about the pages I gave you," she phrased, deliberately leaving out the context.

"Of course you did." Draco enhanced the space between them by stepping a few steps towards a pair of pupils. Still looking at her as if deep in thought, he corrected a pupil's wand arm by lifting up her elbow.

"Come by my quarters at round nine this evening?" He said this very fast and maybe a bit too loud because a few feet away, some boys were wolf-whistling.

"Professor Malfoy, did you just invite a girl to your bedroom?" one of them joked, once again demonstrating her how good the relationship between Draco and his students was.

"I invited a woman to discuss academics away from prying ears, Wolverton. That's hopefully quite different from what you were implying," Draco corrected, his voice bearing a certain edge that he was serious. Afterwards, he broke out into a smile that was devilishly handsome. "Also, I would be careful about what you say around this particular witch," he winked at Hermione, "for she packs quite a punch when she desires so, even without a wand."

Hermione hid her grin behind her hand.

"I'll be there."

* * *

**It's not a coincindence that Perdita Os (Perdita is another Shakespearan character, and 'os' means bone) aka Hermione's books might remind you of Kathy Reich's 'Bones' series. While I adore the TV series, the books are even better. **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: My days are very busy at the moment, so I am glad I found the time to post this! Thank you all for your continued support!**

**This is where mcal hopefully finds out what this story has to do with her. And this is also where I want to thank you niffizzle for her awesome support - I would be a mess without her in all things fanfiction!**

* * *

_Hermione hid her grin behind her hand._

_"I'll be there."_

* * *

And she was.

Obviously, Hermione was on time. Though, she spent several minutes pacing in front of Draco's rooms, debating on the dozens of possible ways this could go wrong.

Until the inhabitants of one of the portraits, a very unnerved looking Regency area witch and her three lovers, told her to 'Finally embrace thy adventure,' so they could start today's orgy.

"Come on, Hermione, this can't be more embarrassing than the one time when experimental invisibility charm only made your clothes invisible and you ran around the department practically naked," she empowered herself before she, ultimately, knocked on the door.

The door must have been charmed to let her in because it opened with no Draco standing behind it. Tentatively, she entered and was surprised. The whole flat was so…

"Cozy," she voiced.

"Surprised, are you?" Draco asked, and Hermione then spotted him sitting behind a huge, wooden desk facing the windows.

"Well, yes," she answer without missing a beat and pointed at the interieur. "Knowing you in your childhood and teenage years, I really didn't expect soft looking sofas in plum, window drapings in bordeaux red, all these shelves full of books, and this overall very warm and insanely welcoming atmosphere."

"Alright, I did deserve that," he chuckled. "But this cold-hearted Slytherin has a soft side, even though he needed a tad longer to find it."

Hermione answered with a laugh, as she seemed to do too often around this changed man. Or maybe, she didn't laugh often enough normally?

"So… those pages I handed to you?" She urged herself to get to the point, trying absolutely not to eye him in his casual clothes. Were those… sweatpants and a soft looking blue cotton t-shirt?

As it was, she got the opportunity to take a closer look at them when Draco got up and grabbed what she supposed were her written pages approaching her.

"Salazar, Hermione, they are pure genius." He glanced at her from behind his reading glasses. "Not that I expected anything else."

Preening under his praise, Hermione felt herself relaxing. He wouldn't say something like that about her very much M-rated stuff, so she must have misplaced it somewhere else, right?

"I immediately owled both of my parents for further information concerning the Blacks and Malfoys. I need to cross-check some of your hypotheses, but from what I can remember, I can only verify them when it comes to my legacy."

"You owled your parents for further resources?" Hermione gasped, not quite believing it.

"Yes, I did. I told you I wanted to explore what you wrote, didn't I?" He stopped about two feet in front of her.

"You did. I just didn't expect you to be as excited over it as I am." She wrung her hands, searching for something to focus on that wasn't him.

"Each and every page of your work was excellent. So why are you so nervous?" His voice was gentle and smooth, and Hermione felt a shiver travelling down her spine.

"Nervous?" she asked back, trying to sound brave.

He bridged the gap between them and took her hands in his. Like every time they touched, Hermione revelled at his warmth.

"Mhhm," he hummed in the positive, starting to rub his fingers over her knuckles.

She didn't want to pull back.

"Maybe you are a bit anxious because of the erotic story that I found between the pages?"

He was very close now.

"That was an accident," she defended herself, only to see his lips curl into a smirk that very nearly melted her underwear.

"Was it really? Such a pity." He did sound a bit disappointed at that.

"Totally unintended, I promise. It's part of a novel and not simply an erotic story," she rambled. "I am sorry if I have offended you with this."

A short laugh escaped him, and Hermione felt his breath caressing her skin.

"Offended? Salazar, no.I found it quite inspiring. And would very much like to discuss the finer points of those scenes with you. Maybe starting over dinner next weekend?"

Feeling like a blushing virgin she most definitely wasn't, Hermione nodded. "That would be great."

"Excellent," he breathed before he pressed one, lingering kiss on her cheek. Goosebumps started from where his lips touched her skin and spread over her entire body's surface.

She had no memory how exactly she had reached the door, but he must have bidden her goodbye and released her hands, for the next time Hermione could string some coherent thoughts together, she sat in front of her own fireplace, a honeyed tea in hand.

"Fuck," she muttered, the occasion calling for a curse word again. "I have a crush the size of the Hogwarts library on Draco Malfoy. And there's nothing remotely innocent about it."

* * *

Hermione slowly came to terms with the fact that she really felt attraction towards this man. When the two of them were near to each other, her heart was racing, and she felt torn between teasing him and telling him off, touching him and letting him chase her (or her him). In "public", if one could call the boundaries of the castle that, it was a gentle hum in the background that seemed to strengthen whenever he was close.

But the weekend was so far away still. And Hermione never was a patient woman.

Waiting for Polyjuice to finish brewing had been nerve grating, but waiting for this date had her more than edgy. The anticipation was killing her, and, frankly, she was also a bit horny.

Though, she was fully aware that this wasn't just a physical thing for her. Yes, she found Draco attractive, and very much so. And, yes, aside from Neville, he was the only man in this castle she would consider as such.

But given that their date went well, what would come after that? A 'friends with benefits' relationship? A one-night stand? What would happen when she went back to her job in the Ministry? And all those thoughts would be obsolete when he indeed only wanted to discuss what she had written.

Hermione hated to be surprised and loved to be in control of what was happening around her. But how should she prepare for the date with Draco? Should she owl Ginny or Lavender? Should she buy new underwear or wear none at all? Or maybe she just should dress in jeans and a sweatshirt?

All those thoughts circulated in Hermione's brain while she worked in the library day in, day out, much to her annoyance. That led to the faux pas of misplacing a book in an entirely wrong section and having to rewrite a passus about the role of the Hogwarts staff in the Statue of Secrecy.

By Thursday evening, she desperately wished for another time turner so she could fast forward time to Saturday, the law breaking that would come with that be damned. She was about to edit a passage about the portrait of Sir Cadogan when she heard the sound of footsteps approaching her.

A quick look over her shoulder revealed her that it was _him_.

"Speaking of the devil," she muttered under her breath.

"Pardon?" he asked, not having understood her.

"Nothing."

He approached her, eyeing the stacks of parchment and books on the desk. He wore a simple green, faded Slytherin shirt and jeans under his opened teaching robes.

Stopping next to her, he leaned in to read the books' spines. "How is your research going? Found anything new about these adjustable rooms near the Great Hall? I thought maybe they were used as family rooms back in the days."

He looked fantastic, he smiled at her, and he was interested in her work and actually understanding what she was doing. Being in the mood she was, the following comment tripped her cauldron.

"Though, they could also be the headmaster's private library you referenced-"

With a speed that would've made any Quidditch player jealous, Hermione stood up halfway, grabbed the lapels of Draco's robes, and pulled him towards her for a bruising kiss.

For several heartbeats, he didn't react at all. Just when Hermione was about to pull away and run to hide in a hole, he made an approving sound in the back of his throat.

She smiled against him when he started to respond. And respond he did. Tracing her lips with the tip of his tongue, he caused Hermione to sigh and instinctively part her mouth. Another happy sound, and he explored her mouth fully.

Closer, he needed to be closer, she decided. Her arms blindly reached around his waist, pulling him flush against her, only to have him cradling her head with one of his hands while the other splayed on her shoulder blade, securing her against him.

All in all, it was the kind of kiss she knew was worth to find its way into her novels, but at some point, they had to stop for the sake of oxygen-intake.

"I am not sorry," she started to explain, "but the uncertainty was driving me crazy."

"I am not sorry, either," Draco admitted. "I thought I had been too forward when you came to my rooms and would dump me before I could take you out on a first date." He nervously rubbed his neck with one hand.

"You could probably asked me to stay the night, and I would've been naked before you could have said 'Quidditch'." Laughing, Hermione rolled her eyes, and he joined her laughter.

"What is happening to us? All the years, and now - everything has changed."

"I don't say this very often, but I have no idea, and I don't even care at this point," she confessed, serious and a bit anxious of his reaction.

"Then we're in the same boat, Hermione."

"Good."

Quite a distance away, a book fell to the ground, making a very noticeable noise. That, however, was enough to make them aware of their surroundings.

"We're in the _library_, Draco." She peeked up to him, finding his grey eyes wide open and expectant. "Maybe we should take this-"

"Quidditch," he cued and just like that, took her hand to lead her away - not without summoning her notes and parchments and books and neatly storing them away in her bag.

* * *

**Same place, a few years later.**

"Hermione!"

"No!" she hissed, her pen scribbling away hastily.

"Hermione, you have to-"

"Not now, Draco! Your mother's cousin twice removed sent me some documents from the Founders' era that really makes some extensive editing of some chapters necessary," she explained, more agitated. But he wouldn't have it.

"Hermione Granger-Malfoy, you better pay attention to what your husband has to say!"

The use of her full name cued her to turn around.

In the middle of the aisle between the restricted section and the History of Magic area, Draco stood, still in his pajamas - who made him look good enough to eat as she noticed again - with absolute glee in his face.

Under his arm, giggling like only children her age could, was their daughter, _also_ still in her pajamas.

After all, it was Saturday morning and the two of them liked to sleep in. Hermione, on the other hand, was an early riser, so she had started the day with a round of research.

The weekends were the only time she could work on writing, even if another revision of her favourite book and her novels had slowed down since she took up McGonagall's offer to work as Charms Professor.

"What happened? You didn't let Carina open one of WWW's 'gift packages' again, did you?"

"No, and if they ever do anything to her hair, I am going to hex them into oblivion." Automatically, he patted the brown curls on his daughter's head.

She, however, had enough of being carried and kicked into the air until Draco set her down. Immediately, she ran towards her mother.

Hermione let her climb into her lap, though she pushed away the historical sources a bit further away for safety reasons.

"Daddy funny," Carina voiced, still smiling, as if that explained all.

"She recognises letters!" it broke out of Draco, the chest swelled with pride.

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Draco, she isn't even two and three-quarters!"

With perfect timing, Carina, ignoring her parents' exchange of words, cried, "H! That's an 'h', Mummy!"

Hermione followed her daughter's finger that pointed at the latest edition of _Hogwarts: A History _(Editor: Hermione Granger) laying before them on the table.

"Wow! You are right. Such a smart girl you are," she praised, insanely proud.

"She is the smartest little girl on the planet," Draco beamed, and her heart swelled. "We are making smart babies, as it seems. Let's make another one?"

When Hermione Granger had entered the library of Hogwarts years ago, she had had a perfectly well constructed plan. Now she had a different job, a husband she loved endlessly, and the most wonderful daughter in the world. She still had plans, if a bit altered, but she execute would execute them all with her family and friends by her side.

"Neville should be free this afternoon," she winked at Draco. "I bet he would love to explain all the plants in the greenhouses to Carina, don't you agree?"

He grinned and dashed off, most probably to find Neville. Hermione and Carina remained in the library, laughing.

Words and letters could be so powerful. Written on parchment, spoken, acted out. But they were the most powerful when laced with love.

* * *

**Thank you for reading!**


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